


roll for intimidation

by SalazarTipton



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Crashdown - Freeform, Embrace, F/M, Gen, Intimidation, Scene Rewrite, Whumptober 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2021-01-16 16:07:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21273947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SalazarTipton/pseuds/SalazarTipton
Summary: “Let’s be clear. You change your mind about Max, about our secret, no lock will keep me from you.”





	roll for intimidation

Liz pushes into the dining area with her field hockey stick raised, ready to take on whatever racist assholes have broken in to tear up the place. She peeks around the corner and lets the makeshift weapon hang by her side. Michael Guerin is sitting at the counter pouring himself a glass from her dad’s bottle of tequila. 

“How did you...The door was locked!”

“Hmm, was it?” The lock on the front door turns over seemingly by itself. Michael smirks at her. “I didn’t notice.”

In all the years she’s known him, Michael never been anything but vaguely friendly--but that was way back in high school. Before Liz knew about him and the Evans’ little green secret. He’s always had a temper when provoked; she just isn’t sure what counts as provoking when it comes to secret identities and protecting your family. Well, maybe she knows a little about that. 

“What do you want?”

“Late night snack,” Michael offers with a shrug. His focus turns away from her to the knife rack on the wall. One of them lifts into the air and goes soaring by her, straight into a cake. 

“I get it. You want me to be scared. I’m not gonna tell your secret. I care about Max, okay?”

“ _ We _ care about Max.” Liz is watching Michael, but his mouth doesn’t move alongside the words. Can he speak telepathically? Can they get into her mind like that? 

The door to the kitchen opens up behind her and out comes Michael holding a pie and cutting knife. She backs away from him, flicking her eyes from one Michael to the other. The one sitting at the bar stool reaches over the counter for another glass, pouring one for his twin. 

“We haven’t ‘officially met’ but we did see each other a couple times back when you guys were in high school. I’m Rath.”

“You have a brother?” is the first question Liz can manage to get out of her mind.

“Max is my brother. The rest is none of your business.”

“I’m not going to say anything.”

“Oh, we’ll make sure of that. The question is whether it'll be your own choice or not. See, this is a hell of a lot bigger than you could wrap your little human brain around,” Rath says. His tone is dripping with malice and his grin looks more like a sneer. 

“What do you mean if it’s my choice? What aren’t you telling me?”

“Liz, there’s a lot we aren’t telling you.”

“I think I have a right to know! After all, I was sh--” Michael stands up and walks over to Liz. She backs away, trying to keep some kind of distance in between them. 

“Miraculously healed, giving you a second chance at life? You’d think she’d be more grateful,” Rath comments to Michael. 

From what she’s learned, they have telekinesis and some sort of mind control--and that’s just from afar. She doesn’t want to learn first hand what they can do up close. He backs her all the way to the front door.

“Let’s be clear. You change your mind about Max, about our secret, no lock will keep me from you.”

The door pulls open behind her and she moves out of the way. Max puts himself in front of her, facing off with Michael. 

“Stay away from her!”

“ _ You  _ stay away from her,” Michael sneers back at him. 

Max wipes the expression off his face with a punch. Michael falls back against the jukebox. 

“I come by to check on the diner, and you two are terrorizing her now? Hasn’t her family been through enough?”

“By all means, whatever it takes to protect  _ her family _ , Deputy.”

“Hey, Max…” Liz jumps in between them, pushing Max away from Michael by a few feet. She looks up at him, trying to explain that she’s fine with just a look.

“That’s cute.” He pushes past Max towards the door, smacking their shoulders together on the way for Max to stumble aside. 

Rath pushes Max off of Michael and sends him towards the door. He waits until Michael is out on the sidewalk to speak. 

“So that’s what you do now, fearless leader? Beat your brother and run to save the human? What is wrong with you?”

“I’m fine.”

“If you really think that, I guess that cop mentality really is rubbing off on you. No need for facts when you can just say something and make it true,” Rath spits out at him. He grabs the handle of the door and looks over his shoulder. “Pull yourself together,  _ Officer _ .”

“Is he right? Is something wrong?”

Max doesn’t wait to hear the door close behind him. He rushes over to Liz and cups his hand around her arm as he checks her over for some kind of injury. He pulls up the cardigan from her arm, covering the hand print back up.

“Max, I’m fine. They were just trying to scare me. You didn’t have to do that. I can take care of myself,” Liz says in an even, calm tone. She tries to calm him down, but her words just seem to work him up even more. “And you didn’t answer me.”

“If they had...I just, I don’t want to lose you again,” he admits, chest heaving. 

Liz spots the look in his eye--the fear of what  _ could happen _ . Without thinking, her hands snakes under her cardigan to press into the hand print on her chest. It thrums with worry and adrenaline, but there’s something beneath it all that’s warm and light like churro pancakes on a Sunday morning. She reaches out for him, pulling him closer until she can properly hold him. She knows he doesn’t want a kiss, yet, but he never said anything against hugs...and he really looks like he can use one. 

Max goes pliant in her arms. His weight sinks a little into her as he wraps his arms around her waist and shoulders. He rests his nose against the crown of her head and breathes her in. The stay like that just standing in the middle of the Crashdown feeling the reverb of the hand print between them.

**Author's Note:**

> i'd love to hear what you think down in the comments <3  
i have a problem and just want to rewrite everything including the dupes...  
find me on [tumblr](http://creaturejaskier.tumblr.com)


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